Blood, sweat, tears, and..shit, basically.

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My heart felt heavy as I watched the little children in the ‘normal’ school opposite from the one I work at (special school) dressed in their mini ‘cheong sams’ and traditional dress. They probably had a little celebration, with Chinese New Year being a few days away.

Heavy, not because most if not all of the children here will not be able to experience the same joy, the same normalcy that the children on the other side do. I felt for the parents of these children. I thought about how one parent said she’d accepted that her child would never be ‘normal’ and do all these ‘normal’ things that a child would do growing up and that she was okay with it. She just wanted him to be happy.

I think that’s probably one of the best things that I’ve ever heard someone say, and really mean it. You could tell just by looking at her that she meant it, for the sake of expression, with all her heart. We are not born equal, and some are more different than others. One of the greatest blessings one can have in life is to have people who accept you for who you are.

There will be people who do not possess the capacity to understand you – people who mock you even, and put you down for thinking, feeling, or being a certain way. Quite simply put, there will be people who make you feel like shit, intentional or otherwise. These people may influence the way we think, feel and act, but they definitely do not dictate our lives.

We are not alone. We can do this.

I am not ashamed of my demons. I am not afraid of falling, well, not as much anyway. It is in your darkest hours, when you’re face down in the dirt that you start to realize things. You start to notice that the struggle and gradual rise of a seedling is just as beautiful, if not more than, the blooming of a flower.

We are different, and we will always be. We may never be able to do the things they do or to do them with ease. We may never be able to experience the same joy or peace that they enjoy. It is almost as if we live in a different world altogether. It doesn’t take a shooting star or fancy fireworks to turn our lives around. We just need that little spark, just bright enough in the distance, for us to know that there is…hope.